James Pearce Jr.’s arrest, raft of charges, and the lurid details of his case have been one of the dominant stories of the Atlanta Falcons offseason. A team hoping to move forward with a completely new regime and new uniforms has avoided saying much about the situation to date.
We’ll see if that changes during media availability on Friday. Because on Thursday, Andy Slater reported that Pearce’s charges will all be dropped if he completes what’s commonly known as a diversion program in the state of Florida.
Pearce will almost certainly face a mandatory six-game minimum NFL suspension, given how public the arrest was, the nature of the charges and how serious they were, and Roger Goodell’s unilateral powers to punish players who tarnish the shield.
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This is an opportunity very few facing such serious charges receive (though it’s also true that an estimated 90 to 95% of domestic violence-related cases do plea out). It’s also one that affords Pearce the chance to show real growth, move forward with his life and career, and avoid letting this awful thing he’s done define who he is for the rest of his life. We sincerely hope he takes that opportunity.
